Breakfast of Champions (The 2017 NAMM Show): Joe Lamond, Intro
The 2017 NAMM Show began with “Breakfast of Champions,” a deep dive into the minds of five industry innovators. This NAMM U Breakfast Session, hosted by NAMM President and CEO Joe Lamond, featured up-close interviews with these leaders, who are currently charting the future of the music products business. To kick off the session, Lamond commented on the importance of innovation at every NAMM member business. (Watch the video to see the full segment.)
“Last year, we kept hearing about the word disruption,” he said. “It was the big word of the year, disruption. And in fact, I think it’s fair to say that 2016 was the year of disruption.
“So what does that mean for us? What does that mean for everyone in this room? Not surprisingly, I believe these trends will affect the music products industry, if they haven’t already. But more importantly, I believe these trends present an opportunity. We’re living in dynamic times, and that gives all of us a chance to lead. To ask ourselves what we want the future of this industry to look like, and to be the force that creates our own future.
“Because if there was ever a time to chart the future of our business, I believe it is right now. This is the moment to position our industry for the next decade. Not by looking back, not even by looking at today, but by innovating for the future.”
Lamond also acknowledged that the process of innovation, business growth and adapting to the future is never-ending. “By the way, once you’ve found your model, you’re probably not done,” he said. “Actually, I suspect you’re never really done. Last year on this stage, Larry Morton of Hal Leonard said it best. He said, ‘Be your own disruptor. Blow up your business before someone else does it for you.’ Or, in other words, ‘If it’s broken, fix it. If it’s fixed, break it—over and over and over again.’
“In preparing for this session, I got to speak with some incredible industry leaders, people you’re about to hear from. These are leaders who are always charting the future of their companies. And for some of them them, disruption, innovation, change—it’s just part of doing business. And they reminded me of one quote that always meant a lot to me. I heard it a long time ago: ‘A situation only becomes useful when one adapts to it.’ So I guess I’d kind of refine that for today’s world: ‘Change only becomes profitable when you adapt to it.’ And the people you’re about to hear from, man, have they ever.”
Watch the interviews with these innovators:
Louis Hernandez, Avid Technology
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